Features
Inputs and Outputs Notes

Features

Cinema DSP Digital: Yamaha's proprietary Cinema DSP (Digital Soundfield Processing) Digital technology goes beyond Dolby Digital and DTS decoding, which uses relatively simple matrix and steering techniques to create surround sound effects. Cinema DSP Digital draws on a huge memory of real-world data from actual venues, especially for the music programs, and input from movie sound technicians to deliver a more realistic surround experience.

Quad-Field Cinema DSP: Yamaha's latest technology, Quad-Field Cinema DSP creates four independent soundfields (Front, Surround Left, Surround Right, and Surround Back) that merge to envelop you in an unmatched surround sound experience. Movies and music have accurate sound localization, smooth movement across the sound space, exceptional clarity, and realistic presence.

Silent Cinema: The Silent Cinema mode allows private listening of multi-channel music or movies, with an accurate simulation of surround sound, through ordinary stereo headphones.

Night Listening Enhancer: During low-volume listening, such as late as night, dynamic range suffers and some sounds are missed. The Night Listening Enhancer offers two modes, Cinema and Music, each with three levels of effect, to ensure you don't miss movie dialog or quiet passages, or lose overall surround spaciousness.

Compressed Music Enhancer: Compression formats such as MP3, WMA, and AAC generally remove sounds that are undistinguishable to typical human hearing, resulting in a loss of fidelity. The Compressed Music Enhancer regenerates the missing harmonics in compression artifacts and compensates for the loss of low- and high-frequencies to provide improved performance.

YPAO Technology: This unit employs the YPAO (Yamaha Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer), which helps you automatically achieve highly accurate sound adjustments. Using the supplied Optimizer Microphone, YPAO performs the following checks and makes appropriate adjustments to give you the best possible sound from your system:

• Speaker Wiring: Checks which speakers are connected and the polarity of each speaker.
• Speaker Distance: Checks the distance of each speaker from the listening position and adjusts the timing of each channel.
• Speaker Size: Checks the frequency response of each speaker and sets the appropriate low-frequency crossover for each channel.
• Parametric EQ: Adjusts the frequency and the parametric equalizer level of each channel to reduce coloration across the channels and create a cohesive sound field. This is particularly important if you use different brands and sizes of speakers, or if you have a room with unique sonic characteristics.
• Volume Level: Checks and adjusts the volume level of each speaker.

Digital ToP-ART/High Current Amplification: Yamaha uses the Digital ToP-ART (Total Purity Audio Reproduction Technology) design concept, which combines the latest and best technologies, parts, and circuit designs, to maximize sound quality. High Current Amplification uses superior quality components from input to output to achieve high current power with low impedance.

Wide-range Frequency Response: The receiver's wide-range frequency response, 10Hz to 100kHz, allows you to enjoy the full fidelity of DVD-Audio and Super-Audio CD players.

On-screen Display: You can display the operating information of the receiver on a video monitor, through the composite, S-video, or component video monitor jacks. You can select Full Display, Short Display, or Display Off.

Presence Speakers: The receiver has a pair of speaker terminals that can be used for Presence speakers or for driving a pair of speakers in Zone 2. The presence speakers supplement the sound from the front speakers with extra ambient effects produced by Cinema DSP. These effects include sounds that the filmmakers intended to locate a little farther back behind the screen in order to create more theater-like ambience. The Presence speakers should be placed at the front of the room about 1-3 feet outside the front speakers. Note: You must select in the menu whether the speaker terminals are being used for Presence or Zone 2.

Dialog Lift: When Presence speakers are in use, you can activate the Dialog Lift feature, which assigns some of the front and center channel elements to the presence speakers to "lift" the dialog to a higher position. The effect of the Dialog Lift can be set between 0 and 5, with the higher adjustments reflecting a higher position of the front/center channel sound.

Dual Zone Capability: The RX-V659 allows you to play two different sources in two zones. The receiver has a pair of stereo preamp outputs and a pair of speaker terminals for Zone 2. Only sources that are connected via analog audio inputs can be output to Zone 2. You can control the receiver from the second zone using the supplied remote control when an infrared signal repeater system is used. If you're using the Zone 2 preamp outputs, a separate amplifier or stereo receiver with a pair of speakers, or a powered speaker system are required.

iPod Universal Dock: With the optional YDS-10 iPod Universal Dock (item # 022YDS10), you can connect your iPod digital music player to the RX-V659, and control playback using the remote control. Only iPod (Click Wheel), iPod nano, and iPod mini are compatible with the YDS-10.

XM Satellite Ready: You can listen to XM Satellite Radio by connecting the XM Mini Tuner and Mini Tuner Home Kit to the RX-V659's proprietary plug. A 50' extension cable is available if the Home Kit's 25' cable is not long enough. XM Satellite Radio offers over 150 commercial-free channels of music, news, sports, comedy, talk, and entertainment to choose from--all in digital quality. During XM playback, you can display the channel number and name, category, artist name, and song title on the front panel. Note: A subscription is required in order to receive XM Satellite Radio.

Neural Surround: Neural Surround has been adopted by XM Satellite Radio for digital radio broadcasts of XM HD Surround recordings and live events in surround sound. Neural Surround employs psychoacoustic frequency domain processing which allows delivery of a more detailed sound stage with superior channel separation and localization of audio elements.

192kHz/24-bit DACs: The RX-V659 uses high quality, audio-grade Burr-Brown 192kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converters for all channels to maximize sound quality.

Surround Modes: The RX-V659 offers the following Surround Modes for movies and music:

• Decoding Formats:
  • Dolby Digital
  • Dolby Digital EX
  • DTS Digital Surround
  • DTS 96/24
  • DTS-ES Matrix 6.1
  • DTS-ES Discrete 6.1
  • Dolby Pro Logic
  • Dolby Pro Logic II (Music, Movie, and Game)
  • Dolby Pro Logic IIx (Music, Movie, and Game)
  • DTS Neo:6 (Music and Cinema)
  • Neural Surround
• Hi-Fi DSP Modes:
  • Music: Hall in Vienna (Hall), The Bottom Line (Jazz Club), The Roxy Theatre (Rock Concert)
  • Entertainment: Disco
  • Stereo: 2-channel stereo, 7-channel stereo
• Cinema DSP Modes:
  • Entertainment: Game, TV sports, Mono Movie
  • Music: Pop/Rock
  • Movie Theater: Spectacle, Sci-Fi, Adventure, General
  • Surround Standard
  • Surround Enhanced

Virtual Cinema DSP: Virtual Cinema DSP is an algorithm that allows you to enjoy DSP soundfield surround effects while using a minimal two-speaker system.

Audio Delay: You can delay the sound output up to 160 ms to synchronize it with the video image.

Pure Direct: The Pure Direct mode turns off the video circuitry and the front panel display, allowing sources to bypass the decoders and DSP processors of this unit so you can enjoy pure hi-fi sound from 2-channel PCM and analog sources. During Pure Direct playback, tone control and sound menu settings are not available, no sound is output from the subwoofer, and the front panel automatically dims.

Subwoofer Crossover: You can select a crossover frequency for the subwoofer, or for any speaker set to "Large" in the Speaker Setup menu. Selectable low-pass filter frequencies are 40Hz, 60Hz, 80Hz, 90Hz, 100Hz, 110Hz, 120Hz, 160Hz, or 200Hz. In addition, you can switch the phase from Normal to Reverse if the bass sounds are lacking or unclear.

Multi-brand Remote Control: The receiver comes with a multi-brand wireless remote control (RAV322). In addition to the receiver, the remote can control multiple brands of cable TV receivers, cable/PVR combos, DBS/PVR combos, satellite receivers, HDTV receivers, TVs, PVRs, VCRs, DVD player/recorders, LD players, CD player/recorders, MD player/recorders, tape decks, and AM/FM tuners. The remote has a combination of back-lit and glow-in-the-dark keys.

Inputs and Outputs Notes

Assignable Inputs: You can assign the component video and digital inputs to the component being used with that input. You can select DVD, DTV/CBL, V-AUX, or DVR for each of the component video inputs. You can select PHONO, CD, MD/CD-R, DVD, DTV/CBL, V-AUX, or DVR for the two optical and the two coaxial digital inputs.

HDTV-compatible Component Video Outputs: The RX-V659 offers three component video inputs and a component video monitor output. These inputs and outputs have a frequency response of 5 Hz to 60 MHz, which is capable of switching High Definition video sources.

Front Panel Input: The front panel's Video Aux input features analog stereo RCA and optical digital inputs, plus composite and S-video video inputs.

Multi-channel Analog Input: This unit has a discrete 7.1-channel analog input for accommodating DVD-Audio and Super-Audio CD players or external decoder.

Digital Inputs/Outputs: Digital audio signals input at the optical or coaxial input jacks can be output at the optical digital output.

Speaker Terminals: The receiver has binding post speaker terminals for the front A/B, center, surround, and surround back channels. The binding posts can accept bare wire, pin connectors, single banana plugs, and dual banana plugs. The collar surrounding the binding post terminals prevent the use of spade connectors. The receiver also features a pair of locking clip terminals for the Presence/Zone 2 speakers. The terminals can accept bare wire, pin connectors, or single banana plugs.

Preamp Outputs: The RX-V659 offers preamp outputs for all channels: front L/R, center, surround L/R, surround back L/R, and subwoofer for connecting to separate amplifiers if desired.